[Childcare] Easy to make! Handmade toys that delight 0-year-olds

9 years of experience as a nursery school teacherShibata Risa
I am an active nursery school teacher with 9 years of experience. After graduating from university, I worked at a daycare center. The time I spent happily with children—playing piano, singing songs, and doing finger-play—are priceless memories to me. Currently, while raising three children of my own, I work at an after-school day service, engaging with children and providing individualized developmental support. Drawing on my diverse experiences as a childcare worker and as a mother, I hope to express and convey my thoughts through writing.

As the months go by, a 0-year-old baby steadily grows and can do more and more.

Each little milestone is joyful and incredibly precious.

Many people may be thinking, “I want to make handmade toys” that match their baby’s development and interests.

So this time, we’re introducing handmade toy ideas that are perfect for babies under one.

These toys are packed with ideas that babies can look at, listen to, touch, and play with in fascination!

They’re all easy to make using familiar recyclables or materials from the 100-yen shop, so be sure to find something your baby will love and give it a try.

[Childcare] Easy to make! Handmade toys that delight 0-year-olds (31–40)

Peek-a-boo!

Let’s make a peek-a-boo flipbook that’s fun to turn and fun to look at! First, prepare one cardboard box and use its largest side as the base.

Start by attaching construction paper to the base, then apply vinyl tape over it for waterproofing.

Next, stick on any photos you like, and then make doors to place over the photos—that’s it! For the doors, it’s best to create a glue flap, attach it to the base with double-sided tape first, and then reinforce it by taping over the top.

For the photos, try vehicles or animals your child likes—or even photos of the children themselves.

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rattle

A rattle that could be called a baby’s very first toy.

Let’s try making one with an Anpanman motif.

Prepare something sturdy like a roll from plastic wrap or poster paper, then wrap it with construction paper or colored tape.

Attach the faces of Anpanman characters to the round openings.

Make the faces out of construction paper, and cover them with clear tape so the paper won’t get damaged and the toy will last longer.

Since the core is hollow, put bells or beads inside.

When a child holds and shakes it, it makes a sound and they’ll have fun!

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Fruit Concentration

These are felt cards you can use to play Concentration (Memory)! You can choose any motifs you like—fruits, vehicles, animals, anything is fine.

However, since Concentration is a game where you match pairs of identical cards, be sure to make two cards of each design.

Cut felt into card shapes and either glue or sew the motifs onto them.

If you’re making everything out of felt, it’s efficient to layer the same fabric and cut two identical pieces at once to save time.

If you want to keep things simple, you could also use store-bought appliqués and just stick them on.

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Infinite Chain

There are capsule toy items called “Endless Bubble Wrap” and “Endless Edamame,” right? It’s not exactly modeled after those, but how about making a toy called an “Endless Chain”? First, decorate a formula can with colored paper or masking tape.

Prepare a plastic chain, connect it into a long length, and put plenty of it into the can.

A slightly thicker chain is better so that a baby can grip it easily.

That’s it—done.

The more you pull, the more chain keeps coming out, so your baby is sure to be delighted.

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